The common interest privilege, also known as the joint defense privilege, the allied litigant doctrine, the pooled information privilege, and others, generally allows “persons who have common interests to coordinate their positions without destroying the privileged status of their communications with their lawyers.” Restatement (Third) of the Law Governing Lawyers § 76 cmt. b. In this program, Jones Day partner Evan P. Singer and associate Arielle Tobin: (1) discuss the source and history of the common interest privilege, (2) define the elements required to establish the privilege; and (3) address the ethical issues confronting attorneys, including maintaining the confidentiality of client communications, avoidance of conflicts and not acting adversely to the client’s interest. ABA Model Rules covered include 1.6, 1.7(b)(4), and 1.13. Ethics opinions covered include District of Columbia Ethics Opinion 349 and ABA Opinion 95-395. Cases include Hanover Insurance Company v. Rapo & Jepsen Insurance Services (Massachusetts), Jedwab v. MGM Grand Hotels, Inc. and Zirn v. VLI

In this program of particular interest to in-house, corporate, securities and transactional counsel and litigators, Jones Day partner Evan P. Singer discusses key cases like Aruba Networks, Trulia, Walgreens and Gordon v. Verizon, as well as recent developments regarding the common interest privilege under New York law.

Open source software burst onto the scene over a dozen years ago, and since then, the pervasiveness and importance of open source has only continued to grow. Today, the growth of open source is driving an expanded range of legal and regulatory issues, including:
• Addressing open source compliance in cloud and hosted environments
• Understanding new open source license enforcement efforts
• Vetting open source for IT security concerns
• Dealing with open source risk in corporate transactions
Keeping pace with these issues poses new challenges, both for companies with established compliance programs and those still relatively new to open source. Join our presenters for a discussion of these issues and solutions to help address them.

Anthony Lo Cicero of Amster, Rothstein & Ebenstein, LLP, discusses recent developments in the law of ethics as it applies to intellectual property, including such subjects as formation and termination of the client relationship, under, e.g. ABA Rules 1.16, 1.18; duties owed to current and former clients under Rules 1.7-1.9; the bases for disqualification and the ever-challenging issue of subject matter conflicts, including developments after the decision in Maling v. Finnegan Henderson, 473 Mass. 336 (2015).

Studies show that lawyers are at greater risk for alcohol use disorders, depression, other mental illness and stress than members of other professions or the general population. Women and men attorneys differ in the ways and reasons that these problems develop, their symptoms, their willingness to get help and the types of treatment that are most effective. Stigma is a particular issue for women. Learn about these gender differences and how to recognize problems, reach out to offer help and the resources that are available for men and women in the legal profession.

While cloud computing and other hosted and online services have become fundamental resources for many companies, using them can also lead to significant legal concerns over data privacy and security. As a result, the provisions involving these issues in such service agreements have become hotly contested. Join Jason Haislmaier of Bryan Cave LLP as he discusses significant data privacy and security concerns that can arise in cloud and other hosted and online services agreements and provides tools for addressing these issues and mitigating the risks that come with them.

The creation of Inter Partes Review (IPR), Post Grant Review (PGR), and Covered Business Method Review (CBMR) has drastically impacted and shifted patent litigation strategy since 2012. These proceedings have proven to be a relatively cost-effective approach for a party seeking to challenge the validity of a patent. But these proceedings are not without their critics, and numerous issues have developed relating to the authority of the Patent Office concerning grant or denial of institution, the applicable claim construction and invalidity standards, and the effect of estoppel, just to name a few. This presentation focuses on the evolution of Post-Grant Patent Office proceedings, recent reforms, current trends, and potential changes that may occur in the near future.

In this important program for in-house and corporate counsel, Megan Mathias covers the scope of fiduciary duties of officers and directors and how to navigate the legal challenges. Topics include: discussion of the various fiduciary responsibilities, avoidance of problematic scenarios, and how to address conflicts when they arise.

This program, for employment and corporate counsel and litigators, addresses the legal challenges in enforcing confidentiality provisions and non-competition provisions against former employees. Topics include: an explanation of the line between not interfering with the employee's ability to work and protecting the disclosure of the former employer's information; and information on how to obtain a temporary restraining order (TRO).